Working it out
by BehindTheRainbow
Summary: This is an AU story about Daryl and Carol. No zombies, no big drama, just two people struggling with their own demons and finding what they needed where they least expected it. Other characters included too.
1. Giving it a try

Ok, new story here :) Nothing really special, just an AU Carol and Daryl story with other characters on it too. Fan fiction is what helps me the most dealing with the frustration after the season finale and pretty much the whole second half of the season when it came to our favorite ship, and for that, I'm really thankful!

Anyway, hope you enjoy this, and thank you for R&R!

Love,

S.-

* * *

thin"Remind me why on hell I accepted to do this? Please.. before I just turn around and walk back home", Carol pleaded, and Michonne couldn't help but laugh at how desperate she sounded.

"Jesus… Carol, how can it be that bad? Just give it a try today. If you hate it, you don't have do it again and I won't say a word. I swear. We get one class for free, remember?" Michonne commented, grabbing her arm and leading her through the crowded street.

Carol sighed, but couldn't help to laugh at herself too. She knew she sounded like she was about to be tortured, but exercise had always been kind of like that to her. She remembered her high school years, how she was always terrible at whichever sport they played… so bad she was always the last one to be chosen if they had to play in teams, and honestly, she'd never cared. All things considered, her body was in a pretty good shape despite her lack of exercise, although, she had to admit, it'd seen better years. She wasn't on her twenties anymore, and even when she could still eat pretty much whatever she wanted without gaining weight, she'd noticed how she'd started filling her clothes a little more lately.

"You still didn't give me any good reason though", Carol said, glancing at Michonne out of the corner of her eye, whose expression was slowly changing to an annoyed one.

"Do I really have to, Carol? Ok, I got one. Hot guys. There you go. Lots of half naked, sweaty hot guys".

Carol laughed out loud. "Never been my type, but I'll admit it won't hurt to take a look", she said, deciding she'd stop complaining. "Why do you want to do this so badly?… I mean, it's not that you need to, you're impossible fit", she commented as they walked.

"Yeah, well. That won't be for long if I keep eating the way I am… work's getting more stressful every day and when I finally get home, all I want to do is eat pizza and watch TV", Michonne told her, shaking her head in disapproval.

"So how are things with Rick? Still kind of weird?" she asked, noticing Michonne had stopped walking, and she realized the inevitable was probably about to come.

"Don't even make me start talking about that. Yes, things are still weird… a good kind of weird though, for now… but I have the feeling", she started, glancing around before looking at Carol. "I have the feeling it's not the right time for him or for me to start anything, you know? It's complicated", she finished with a sigh.

Carol brought her hands to her hips and looked back at her. "Is it ever the right time, Michonne? I mean, for everyone, but specially for you. It's always complicated, but it might be worth it…"

"Yeah, look who's speaking", Michonne said, raising her brow. "Ok, I think this is it", she said, looking up at a barely readable sign on a little white door between two large buildings. And Carol knew the conversation was over for now.

"Fitness club, wooho. There we go!" Carol said, turning her head to look at Michonne with a mocking face.

"Bitch", she murmured, and Carol laughed as they walked inside. "You said you didn't want to take any classes, so… I bet there will be someone here telling us what to do".

Carol just nodded and kept on walking through the long corridor, already spotting someone behind a counter and a few working out machines in the distance. She felt nervous, for some reason, the way she always felt whenever she started any new activity to fill her few free hours of the day. She guessed new things where always like that, fun and exciting. Then they just became part of your routine and at some point they just stopped fulfilling you and they turned boring. Or maybe it was just her, she wasn't sure. But that was part of the reason she'd stopped trying new things for a while now.

And she didn't know what happened first: the dig on her ribs or her turning her head up and looking at the guy behind the desk. And she might have given him a terrible look, because that dig had hurt, but quickly she found herself trying to hide it and smile.

"Hey there… huh, we're new? We just wanted to do a little workout routine, maybe for an hour, hour and a half… we saw your announcement on the newspaper", Michonne spoke confidently, like she always did, especially when she was flirting.

"Huh.. sure. I gotta register both of ya 'fore ya start though…" the guy said, grabbing some sheets, his eyes going from Michonne to Carol and then back to the table in front of him.

And he was hot indeed. Maybe your typical hot gym guy, although he wasn't as big and built as most of them were. He was rather slim instead, with the right amount of muscles on his arms, arms that suddenly became impossible not to stare at. His blue eyes were almost covered by his darkish hair, thumb on his mouth as he wrote some things on the sheets he then offered to them,

"Jus' fill this wit' yer name an' all.. I'll be givin' ya yer cards 'fore ya leave today", he murmured.

"Um, alright. So, how do we know what we should do? Are you going to show us too?" Carol asked, and she soon realized that had to be a real stupid question because both Michonne and him were staring at her now.

He narrowed his eyes a little and tilted his head, looking at her like if she was crazy.

"I jus' register people and fix 'em machines.. ain't a trainer or nothin'. There's people inside.. huh, ma brotha.. Merle.. there's a woman too…. ya tell 'em specifically what ya wanna do. They'll show ya."

She saw his eyes travelling down her frame, and then up to her face, and then she heard him ask:

"Firs' time on a gym?"

Carol looked back at him, feeling offended. Just because she wasn't the typical blonde on tiny shorts and a bright tank top and just because she'd asked how on hell this working out thing actually worked didn't mean he had to look at her like she didn't fit there. Yes, this was definitely the typical gym guy. Fit, awkward with words and mean to people unless he wanted to fuck them. Oh. And unbearable hot.

She gave him a tight smile and handed him the paper she'd already filled.

"Yes. First time. Probably last one too." She said, before turning around and heading inside, leaving a confused Michonne behind.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Michonne asked, walking hurriedly towards her, her voice slightly amused. "Did you see that guy? Jesus. I swear that's enough reason for us to come here every day".

Carol snorted and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, so what? Did you really have to hit me like that?! All I saw was the weird look he gave me when I asked him a simple question".

"You're overreacting. He didn't do that. Besides, it was kind of funny… your question", she said teasingly. "Alright, let's find that Merle guy… if he looks anything like his brother then this place is a gold mine".

"Oh, god, poor Rick", Carol said with a chuckle.


	2. Better than you thought

Here you go, the second chapter!

Hope you like it.

S.- 

* * *

Carol had never been in a gym before, but the atmosphere was pretty much what she'd always imagined. There was loud music, so loud she could barely hear Michonne unless she got really close to her; most of the people were guys, from teenagers to old looking men, and they didn't seem to mind openly staring at them as they walked through, some of them even daring to smile at them and nod their heads towards them; the walls were covered in mirrors because it was apparently satisfying or something to watch yourself as you pulled as much weight as you could, and Carol looked at her own reflection, suddenly feeling bad for having chosen those loose yoga pants she'd bought and wore only that time Michonne had dragged her to yoga classes, and the baggy t-shirt one of her old boyfriends had left in her house some time ago.

She spotted, then, a blonde woman in a tight, black tank top with the word "Staff" written over it, both in the back and front, speaking to a guy, a rather older guy it seemed, with a matching tank top that let all his arms and shoulders muscles show. He was big and built, his head shaved, and Carol got the feeling it was someone you wouldn't want to get into any trouble with. The man was whispering things to the woman, who kept smiling and shaking her head. She imagined the man was this Merle person his brother, the hot, mean guy had told them about, but at least from the distance, she couldn't find any resemblance between him and his brother. They simply looked different and he looked more charming, maybe because that was how a gym instructor was supposed to be. The blonde woman lifted her eyes and watched them both, and she said something to the guy and walked towards them.

"Hey there! Nice to see more females around. I'm Andrea, one of the instructors, first day right?" she said, shaking both of her hands.

"Hey, yes…", Michonne started saying, and Carol let her talk because it was her who knew better what all this was about. "We just wanted to do some working out routine?"

"Sure! Just the usual? General body training? No special requirements? No back or muscular poblems of any kind?" she asked again.

"No, not that we know of, at least", Carol said with a chuckle.

"Perfect!" the woman said enthusiastically. "I will show you around then… tell you how all the machines work, how you should use them and all. There's a 15 minutes warm up and then about an hour of exercises… once I show you everything, if you have any doubts you call me or Merle, the guy over there", she said, pointing to him, who smiled and winked at them. "We are here to help".

Once Andrea had showed them everything and talked about how legs exercises came first, then the arms, shoulders and back and finally the abs, and how they should come at least 3 times a week, Carol started to feel in a better mood. Maybe this was going to be good and stress relieving, and not as boring as she'd first thought. The woman was nice and friendly and she'd also commented how they both looked fit enough and how quickly they were going to see the results.

So they were both now warming up in two bikes, Carol's forehead filling with sweat and her heart starting to beat faster. She noticed then, the guy from the counter walking towards his brother and saying something to him. He suddenly turned around and fixed his eyes on her for a second. She locked her eyes with his, just because there was nothing else to look at and it was impossible to try to engage some conversation with Michonne, with all the noise and music. He quickly dropped his gaze though, and walked through the corridor back to the counter. Great. Now he'd seen her all sweaty and flushed, trying not to fall from the static bike. Not that she cared anyway. 

* * *

"Merle!" Daryl called for the second time, but with the loud music and the fact that his brother looked pretty busy helping a brunette use one of the machines and openly staring at her ass whenever she kneeled down, it seemed impossible to get his attention. He shook his head. He had slowly gotten used to it, but he still didn't like how Merle used every damn opportunity to check every woman out when he was supposed to be helping them. He simply felt it was wrong, felt like taking advantage of them in some way, even when some of them didn't seem to mind at all.

"Damnit, Merle! Will ya listen ta me fer a damn second?" he said impatiently, grabbing his arm.

"Sup lil' brotha! jus' helpin' tha young lady 'ere train those gorgeous legs" he said with a wink, and the woman turned her head and smiled shyly at him.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Whateva. There's two new women today.. ya showed 'em around already?"

"Yea.. yea. Already seen 'em. Andrea took care of 'em… They are righ' there on the bikes now. Ya saw the black one? Don' know what tha hell she doin 'ere… she could probably fuckin' train my ass, wouldn' mind one damn bit", he said with a chuckle.

"Jesus, Merle. This ain't no fuckin' hook up bar", Daryl told him, annoyed.

"Tha other one ain't so bad either, ya know?… too bad she's covered in like ten layers of clothin', leaves too damn much to tha imagination", he added, amused, and Daryl sighed dramatically but turned his head to look at her anyway.

She'd caught her attention for that reason, but not in the way Merle was talking about, but rather in the exact opposite way. He thought it was pretty cool she didn't give a damn and dressed however the hell she wanted, in actually the most comfortable clothes to work out if you asked him. And when she'd asked him what they should do there, with such a confused expression on her face like if she didn't know what the hell she was doing in that place, he'd found it kind of cute, a word that was rarely part of his vocabulary. He'd fought a smile and asked her if it was her first time there, and apparently she'd found it mean or something, because she gave him a look and walked away, mumbling something about that being her last time there. He hadn't understood at first, but then again, he was already used to being misinterpreted and to people thinking of him as a jerk just because he wasn't exactly chatty or he didn't know how to express what he actually meant. Fuck it. Wasn't a big deal anyway. 

* * *

"How exhausted are you, from 1 to 10?" Carol asked in between breaths, once they finished their last exercise.

Michonne chuckled and grabbed her bag. "15…" she said. "It was alright though, better than I thought. You?"

"28?" Carol said, panting, and they both laughed. "But actually, yes, I kind of had fun and all".

"Does that mean you're actually coming back?" Michonne asked her, checking her phone over and over.

"Um. I might. Just for the week… see how it goes. What's the hurry?"

"Rick is picking me up. He's actually waiting for me outside. Need a ride?" Michonne asked as she started walking outside.

"Oh. No.. I'm not ready just yet. You go ahead… I've got that dinner tonight, I might just shower here… I don't know if I'm going to have the time to go home and get ready", she said, checking her own phone as well.

"Really?! How come you didn't tell me? So you decided to go out again? Thought you didn't even know whether you liked the guy…" They were already by the door and Carol saw Rick parking on the street. She waved at him.

"And I thought it was you who told me I should give it a try…"

"Huh, yes, that was me. Call me and tell me how it went!" Michonne called out, and Carol turned around and headed inside the gym, feeling that now that the gym inner struggle was over, she already had a new one ahead.

"Hey, Carol!" she heard someone call her, and she was so lost in her thoughts she actually jumped at the sound of the voice.

"How do you know my name?" she asked without really thinking, and he saw him blink a few times before he answered.

"Ya filled it 'ere earlier… remember?" he explained, handing her what looked like their gym cards, hers and Michonne's.

"Oh, right!", she said, bringing her hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry, all that working out left me kind of dizzy". She then remembered this was the same guy that treated her like an idiot when they first got there, and her expression hardened a little. "Thanks", she mumbled, putting the cards on her bag.

"I take it this ain't yer last time 'ere then", he commented. "I'm Daryl, jus' in case ya ever need anythin'".

"Thank you", she said, lifting her eyes to find his blue ones staring right back at her. "And yes, might not be my last time".

Once more, he locked his eyes with hers, but he held his gaze for a few seconds, slightly nodding his head.

"That's good…", he said. "That's good".

Her face expression softened, maybe because he had such a nice gaze, or because he was being friendlier than she gave him credit for earlier, and she found herself smiling at him.

"I guess it is".


	3. Figuring out

another chapter and we're moving forward into this story... hope you like where it's going, Caryl will be coming, eventually, but not just now.

Have a great week you all!

S.-

* * *

Showering and dressing up on a gym's bathroom hadn't really been very comfortable. After all, the place was designed for people to have a quick shower, not for them to get ready for a date, but the last time she'd seen this guy, Ed, she'd arrived 15 minutes late and he'd actually complained, which Carol hadn't liked at all in that moment. After some thinking though she'd just figured some people were obsessed with time, so maybe he was one of those people… which wasn't really bad actually, nor something she could blame him for when, from what she knew, he was always pretty busy and running from here to there because of his work.

And today was going to be the third date with the man. And, honestly, she didn't feel she actually knew what she was doing…. she didn't feel she actually knew how she felt about him, a part of her telling her that lack of excitement, specially on the first dates, should be taken as some sort of warning; the other part claiming it was pretty normal to feel that way after 32 years of bad or confusing relationships, breaks ups and disappointment. She'd met him at the hospital, some weeks ago when he'd gone for stitches. They'd shared some small talk while she took care of him, and two days later, he'd gotten his phone somehow and called her to ask her out. It'd been completely unexpected and she'd found it flattering, so they ended up meeting for coffee one morning during the week. And it'd been nice, it'd been ok, nothing great or outstanding, just two people sitting on a bar, going through that awkward questionnaire with the intention of knowing more about the other, and figuring it out, too, whether they thought the other person was worth a shot, was worth a second date, or that was the way she saw it and that was why she'd always found those situations kind of forced.

But she'd seemed to pass the test, because that Saturday night he invited her to go out for drinks. And she'd accepted, even when somewhere inside she'd felt the whole thing was turning way too predictable: the night out second date, where they were supposed to have a few drinks, loosen up a bit, probably kiss when he took her home, which actually hadn't happened because she'd gotten off the car as quickly as she could, saying something about seeing him again sometime during the week. He'd called again yesterday's night, and she'd said yes, so they were going for dinner today. And she honestly didn't know if she was going to be able to avoid a kiss or some sort of physical contact without her having to explain what she wanted or how she felt, which had gotten her nervous the whole day.

She'd written the restaurant's address down, but she didn't really know the place, and when she got there, 5 minutes earlier just in case, she swallowed hard. He'd mentioned going out on a dinner, but he'd never really said they were going to a place as fancy as this one was. And even when she appreciated his attempt to impress her, she really wasn't the kind of woman who'd frequent a place like this, nor that she could afford it anyway… and she thought it was strange he hadn't figured that wasn't her style by now.

"Well, hello there", he greeted her, stepping forward and kissing her cheek. Carol blushed a little and smiled slightly, noticing he was wearing a suit. Maybe he'd gotten there straight from work or something.

"Oh, hi. I made sure I got here on time", she said, and he chuckled as he looked up and down her frame.

"I appreciate it. I did mention we were coming to Stacey's right?" He asked, his eyes lingering over her body for a few seconds, and Carol frowned in confusion.

"Yes, you did. I've just never really heard of it before…" she explained, even though she didn't know what his point was.

"Oh, I see. It's ok then, I just thought.. well, if you'd known the place, you'd have probably wanted to dress up a little better".

Carol's mouth dropped open, not really sure she'd heard him alright, and she looked down at her own body and then back to him.

"Excuse me?! I did dress up... this is me, this is how I look when I dress up…" She could feel her voice rising but she didn't think she could control it, still unable to believe what he'd just said.

"Hey, hey!" He said, lifting his hands up. "No big deal. You look nice…pretty, you always do. I was just saying, it's all… you got yourself a temper in there huh?!" he smiled at her and placed his hand at the small of her back, guiding her inside.

* * *

"God, I'm so full", Carol commented, bringing her hands to her belly, partly because she was full indeed, partly to fill the silence as he drove her home.

He glanced at her as he drove. "Bet you are… you ate like there was no tomorrow over there".

Carol turned her head to look at him and narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out whether he was joking or not.

"Is that a bad thing?" she dared ask.

He shrugged "I guess it isn't… unless you start gaining weight, you know?" he said, snorting.

Carol decided he had to be joking. Either that or he was a real asshole and it was starting to show, but then again, he'd been nice back there on the restaurant, interested in her life and sharing things about his own, and she'd found out, for instance, he was actually divorced. She hadn't asked much but from what he told her, it hadn't ended pretty well. He'd asked her if that was a problem and she'd said no, because honestly it wasn't, or at least that didn't change anything for her. She wasn't old fashioned and she knew too well things sometimes simply didn't work.

"Would there be a problem? I mean… if I did gain a little weight, or… or if I eat my whole plate instead of leaving half of it to make you think I eat like a bird.. Because that's how I am, you know?", she asked, a little nervous, as he parked the car in front of her house.

He brought his hands to his hair and then turned his head to face her.

"No, no, of course not", he said, shaking his head. "Carol, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for saying the wrong things sometimes… I just… I guess I try to be funny and it comes out the wrong way".

"Well.. ok", was all she said, figuring there was no point in discussing it any further, at least not on their third date. And he did apologize, but she couldn't help wondering how many of those other bad jokes would be coming on the following dates, how many of those jokes were actually harmless, bad jokes.

"I really do like you Carol", he said, his eyes fixing on hers, and he leaned in so fast it didn't even give her time to think about it, and it'd been too damn long from the last time she'd been kissed, so she found herself kissing him back.

But after a couple of seconds he wrapped her arms around her a little too roughly as he tried to deepen the kiss, and she instantly pulled apart.

"I.. huh.. I better go home", she mumbled. She could read the frustration on his face but he didn't say a thing, just chuckled.

"Well, alright. Goodnight Carol", was all he said, and she just nodded and opened the car's door.

She walked to the front door feeling dizzy, thinking so many things at once she couldn't put them together. She paced around her kitchen, drinking a tea she hoped relaxed her a little, and finally heading to her bedroom and deciding whatever there was to figure out, it could be done tomorrow. She suddenly remembered they were going back to the gym tomorrow afternoon, and for some reason, the idea distracted her from the entire Ed thing, and she eventually fell asleep.


	4. A little distraction

I got another chapter out just before I go to sleep, with some character development but also a little caryl interaction for y'all! I hope you like it.

S.- 

* * *

Daryl didn't even look at the clock. The minute he woke up he headed straight to Merle's room, banging his bedroom door as he walked out.

And just like he expected, Merle was laying on his back, snoring loudly, one of his arms hanging out of the bed, the whole bedroom smelling so bad like alcohol it made his stomach sick. And he knew it shouldn't really surprise him, and he knew the best he could do was give a fuck about it. But he never did. No matter what happened or how many times it happened. Problem was, Merle sure as hell seemed to give a fuck about him.

"Wake the fuck up Merle!" he yelled as he shook him, and a minute later Merle started to respond, growling and fighting with his arms as wanting whatever was that they were doing to him to stop.

"Fuck, what tha hell, Daryl", he mumbled once he opened his eyes.

"Tha fuck is yer problem, huh?! Seriously, Merle!" he repeated, his voice starting to rise up again. "Tha fuck is yer problem man?!"

"Tha hell ya talkin' bout lil' brotha?" he asked, looking genuinely confused as he sat on the bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

"Hell I'm talkin' bout? Damnit, Merle! Ya asked me 50 bucks to go buy some damn food yesterday night, ya never came back! Ya stole my last fuckin' 50 bucks and got drunk, bought 'em fuckin' pills.. and ya ask wha' I'm talkin' bout? Yer fuckin' retarded, Merle.. that's wha' ya are." He leaned in and pushed him on his chest when he finished yelling at him, and Merle tensed and clenched his fists, but he stood still.

"Be careful what ya say to me boy", he warned him, and Daryl let out a loud chuckle.

"What tha fuck, Merle? 'em fuckin' drugs took ya back to tha time I was 15 and ya dragged my ass 'round, tried ta turn me into tha asshole ya are? I got us this job man, I took us out that shitty hole we lived in… you do whateva' tha hell ya wanna do, mess wit' whatever's left of yer brain, ya go and mess wit' er head too, pretend ya don' give a fuck.. but dontcha mess wit' me Merle, dontcha screw this fer me cause I'm gonna fuckin' leave, and ya know ya won't make it". He stopped speaking when he saw Merle shift on the bed, and for a second he thought he was going to stand up and punch him. Wouldn't be the first time, nor the last one probably, but it didn't happen.

"Tha hell I want a woman fer when I already got one in tha house", he muttered, and Daryl just crossed his arms around his chest and nodded.

"Ya know, fer hatin' ol' Jack so much ya sure as hell is too damn alike 'im", he said, starting to turn around and leave.

"If this is 'bout yer damn 50 bucks yer gonna have 'em tomorrow nigh'!", he yelled from the bed as Daryl banged the door shut and walked outside his brother's room.

* * *

"So?" Michonne asked when they went silent after going through all the conversation topics Carol could think about just to avoid the question she knew was going to come.

"So what?" she asked, and Michonne gave her a look.

"You don't want to talk about it. Why is that?" Michonne lowered her pace down and grabbed her arm, motioning for her to stop walking. "We even got some time for coffee if you want, I'm just curious as to why you don't want to talk about it", she repeated, raising her brows.

Carol let out a nervous chuckle. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it. It's just that... I don't know… he…" she was going to tell Michonne about his strange comments, but then she decided not to. It embarrassed her, for some reason, confessing she'd still let him kiss him even after those things he'd said, things she knew Michonne would question, just as she questioned them herself. But she wasn't Michonne, she wasn't as secure and determined as her friend was.

"What is it, you slept together?" Michonne asked again.

"No!" Carol spatted, "No, we didn't sleep together. I'm just… I don't know. I guess I just, I can't figure out whether there's something wrong with him, or there's something wrong with me for not being thrilled with a man like him".

"What you mean, a man like him?"

"Well, you know…" she started saying, even when she didn't really know what she'd really meant by that. "Someone a lot of women would like to go out with… because he's… sophisticated? And it looks like he's really looking for a serious relationship, he isn't just messing around, having doubts or second thoughts, you know? He calls you when he says he will and… I don't know…" she looked down; knowing what she'd just said didn't make complete sense.

"Ok, I take it back…", said Michonne. "Jesus, are you hearing yourself?" she added with a snort.

"What? You take what back?"

"I told you you should give it a try… now I take it back, because you clearly don't like the man. And that's ok, I mean, people can be great and all, but we might just still not like them after all… so what, you should force yourself to like him just because he calls when he says he will?", she explained, grabbing her arm so that they kept walking to the gym.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that… I don't trust myself anymore, you know? All the other times I followed my gut… and it didn't end up well, so what if what I should just do was exactly the opposite? Go out with a guy I normally wouldn't? Maybe it turns out fine, maybe my criteria is all messed up". She felt glad she could finally put words at how she felt, even when she hadn't been completely honest with Michonne.

"Yeah… well, maybe. But meanwhile, you aren't enjoying yourself… ever since you first went out with him, whenever I ask you about it, all you say is you don't know… and you should see your face while you say it…" Michonne put a depressing face and Carol laughed.

"God, things should be simpler…" she commented as they got inside the gym.

"They should. But they aren't. I gotta pee, like right now… see you inside", Michonne said, and she got lost inside the gym leaving Carol at the entrance.

And maybe because she had just been talking about doing things she wouldn't normally do, something took over her and she walked towards the counter where she knew she'd find that guy, Daryl… he'd said his name it was Daryl. And she didn't care she was about to turn into one of the probably many women who innocently flirted with him as an extra bonus in their gym class. It's not that she planned on going out with him, not that he'd ask her out anyway. He was just nice to look at and that was what she suddenly felt like doing.

"Hi", she said, resting her arms on the counter. She saw her blankly staring at a sheet he was holding, until he looked up at her and left it aside.

"Huh, hey", he muttered. She hadn't really heard him say much but she found out she liked his voice. Despite his appearance, it was soft and kind of soothing.

"Huh, I jus' saw yer friend get in... ya was needin' anythin'?" he asked, brushing his hair off his forehead with his fingers.

"Oh, no… not really. I was just on my way in too... I guess I just... I'm avoiding the exercise at all cost", she said with a chuckle.

She saw him relax a little; leaning on his chair as he gave her something that couldn't be defined as a smile, but hell it made him look even hotter, whatever it was.

"Yea, well.. we could switch wheneva' ya want. Normally I can't stay still fer more than 10 minutes... but I'm stuck 'ere fer the whole afternoon every day.." he said, that rare smile still plastered on his face.

She was starting to forget about her class when Michonne grabbed her arm.

"Here you are! Thought you'd be inside already!" she said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I was just going inside", she mumbled a little nervously, walking along with Michonne and turning her head to look at Daryl, who nodded at her. She couldn't help but smile. That innocent flirting had warmed her up a little bit after all.


	5. Thoughts and Glances

Here's another chapter.. I know there's not much going out just yet but don't worry, just setting everything up for what's coming next.

this chapter goes to gipseydanger; she's great and always very supportive when it comes to my stories, which means a lot to me :)

Hope you like it, tell me what you think!

S.-

* * *

Carol wiped the sweat off her face, determined in finishing her exercise, even when her arms were trembling because of the effort. She didn't understand how people could do this out of fun and actually enjoy themselves, like Michonne, who seemed to be doing it easily and even managed to keep her face straight as she lifted even more weight than she ever thought she could. She thought maybe she should buy a bike and ride it around, or just go to the park for a run. At this point even cleaning her house seemed better than paying for an hour of torture.

"Ya migh' wanna lift less weight there darlin'… unless ya wanna be all sore tomorrow mornin'", she heard a voice say, a voice that sounded familiar. She put the weight down and watched the male instructor, Merle, easily lift it up with one hand and change it for a lighter one.

"Huh, thanks. Maybe that was the reason I was hating this so badly", she joked, and he snorted.

"Dontcha give up sweetheart... ya do this fer a while, then tha heavier ones will feel light as a feature fer ya after a while, ya know", he commented, lifting one of the heaviest weights up in the air to show her his point. "Thing is… ya gotta use a light weight at firs'... lotta repetitions, that way ya get ta train tha muscle deep an' slow and ya don' get too damn tired".

"Well…", Carol said. "I have to admit you've got perfect timing. I was just about to give up". She confessed, looking at him, a smirk playing on his lips, and she realized not only did he and Daryl look different; they also didn't seem to share the same personality at all. Merle was definitely more like the confident, charming type. They did have the same eyes, though, that deep shade of blue she'd found so fascinating about his brother's gaze.

"So, you've always been a gym instructor?" Michonne asked, joining the conversation as she laid on the floor, moving her upper body up and down.

"6 months, darlin'", he answered with a chuckle. "Me and ma lil' brotha.. we moved 'ere a few months ago… figured we'd give tha big city a try, ya know? ain't really had a real job 'fore actually", he admitted, and Carol felt surprised at his honesty.

Michonne just raised his brows, but she didn't say anything else, to busy working out as to chit chat. Carol just thanked him for his help, feeling suddenly curious about what they did before moving to Atlanta, but not daring to ask. She went back to her weightlifting, glancing up towards the counter, and she felt her arms tremble under the weights when she saw Daryl leaning over the counter, his eyes clearly fixed on her. She lowered the weights down, suddenly too self-conscious and not knowing what to do with herself, but then he quickly dropped his gaze, breaking the eye contact, and Carol sighed, smiling to herself. Last thing she needed was finding herself a gym crush, but she didn't know if she could help it.

* * *

Daryl shifted nervously on his seat the minute he saw Merle approach Carol and her friend, Michel or something. He was still angry at Merle and not for the damn 50 bucks really… hell, he had a lot more money than that saved actually, not that he could ever tell him about it anyway. He could hardly even remember when he'd started saving that money, but he knew it'd slowly turned into a lot, and it'd been that money actually what'd saved him and Merle's asses so many times, the same money they'd used for moving to Atlanta and living in the most decent place they had lived for years. Truth was, that money he'd been saving since his teenage years, all those times he'd been going from one job to another while his brother and his old man got wasted and high in their house, that money was also Merle's, he was loyal to Merle like that, even when most of the time the asshole didn't deserve it. And Merle had to know; he was smart, even smarter at times than he was himself, but he still never asked, probably because, deep inside, Merle knew he didn't really deserve it. And that was the reason Daryl was angry at Merle… he hated he couldn't trust him. He hated he'd always interfere in Daryl's intentions of stop surviving and start fucking living once and for all. He was angry at Merle for sometimes getting the feeling the only way of actually doing that was getting rid of him, leaving; heading his own way… he was angry at him for never proving him wrong. But now, as he watched him enthusiastically speak to this woman, he felt a different kind of anger arise. A most primal, instinctive one maybe, and he didn't know why. It's not that he wasn't used to watching his brother take every opportunity to flirt with all the women that went to the gym, or to wherever the hell they'd be. "Never waste an opportunity to get laid, lil' brotha", he'd always said to him, ever since he was a kid. Hell of a big brother advice.

For the last 4 or 5 months though he doubted Merle had actually slept with anyone expect for Andrea, but it still seemed he couldn't stop it, he couldn't stop being Merle. But this woman, Carol, she seemed nice, too nice to have Merle's ass around. It was actually the second day he ever saw her and if he was honest to himself he had to admit he did feel a little drawn to her. Maybe the reason was she just seemed different and he'd always been attracted to that, even when a woman like her… well, was definitely out of his league, not that he'd know how to make a move if he knew there was the slightest of chances she was interested in him. He'd liked, though, that she'd come today and talked to him… He liked that she didn't seem to mind saying what she thought, and he also liked her eyes, that pale, bright blue that got him thinking there was nothing to hide in there, in her. He stretched and shook his head, feeling embarrassed at his own thoughts about her eyes and shit, but he still lifted his eyes and looked for her, swallowing hard when she saw her stare back right at him. He had to admit it wasn't the first time he caught her looking at him actually, and he couldn't help but smile when she saw her shift nervously, putting the weight down and just standing there, a little uncomfortable it seemed. He dropped his gaze though, feeling his face turn bright red and thanking she couldn't see it. Jesus, he felt like an ass. But at least it made his afternoons a little more fun.

"Why is your face so red Daryl? You feeling ok?" he heard Andrea ask. He looked at her, feeling himself blush even harder.

"Too fuckin' hot in here", he muttered, fixing his eyes on the floor.

"If you say so…" she said. "Listen, do you want to come for dinner tonight? Nothing special… just went to the supermarket yesterday, figured I'd cook something different… Merle's coming with me after we close, thought you'd like to come too."

"Huh, yea.. maybe", was all he said. He still wasn't sure he wanted to be around Merle's ass. "Ya told all tha folks 'ere 'bout tha gym party?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Thought you hated the idea?" she questioned, but didn't wait for his answer. "I told most of them, yes, still gotta tell those new girls though."

"I can tell 'em", he stated, suddenly. " I mean, if I run into 'em", he explained, and Andrea let out a laugh.

"You most likely will, Daryl, I mean… they are probably leaving at some point, they will probably want to pick up their cards", Andrea said, amused.

"Yea well, count me in fer dinner"…


	6. Skeptical

Just a filler chapter but from now on things are going to start moving a little faster, even when the Caryl will take some more time...

I hope you like it and you have the best of weekends! 

S.-

* * *

6.

"So, it's Friday today… you got any plans?" Michonne asked Carol while they washed their sweaty faces in the bathroom.

"Uh, not really… I was just thinking of Chinese food and a movie…"

"What about Ed? Has he called these days?" her friend asked, as Carol absently ran her hands through her long, curly hair.

"He has, yes… I still don't want to go out with him again though, not until I figure out.. well, what is it that I want to do", she explained, picking up her bag and heading towards the door.

"Yeah, that makes sense", Michonne said. "Well, we're going out with Rick tonight, just for a few drinks… do you want to come?"

"Oh, I don't know Michonne… I wouldn't want to be in between you guys, thank you for the invitation though", she told her, a little disappointed when she walked through the counter Daryl was always sitting behind but didn't see him there.

Michonne grabbed her wrist just before they walked out of the gym, stopping her. "In between what?" she asked her, furrowing her brows at her. "We aren't even official yet… just two friends going out for a drink".

"And hitting the bed together after getting those drinks", Carol joked, and Michonne smirked.

"just two fuck friends then, that's what I should have said". Michonne's eyes grew wide the same time Carol heard someone clearing their throat behind, and she turned around to find Daryl right there at the gym's entrance, smoking a cigarette.

He was raising a brow, looking amused, like if he was trying to keep a laugh from coming out. Michonne let out a giggle and he snickered.

"thought ya migh' wanna know there's a.. huh.. party or somethin' here in the gym in a couple 'f weeks, jus' cause we need to buy some stuff.. so.. jus' let me or Merle or Andrea know if ya wanna come". His eyes were fixed on the floor while he spoke, but he lifted them and looked at Michonne when he finished. Carol couldn't help but feeling a little offended, and she instantly chuckled at the weird, childish feeling, which caused him to look at her.

"That's cool, a party is exactly what we're needing" Michonne said. "So when exactly is it?" she asked, and his eyes went back to her.

"In two Saturdays, ticket's 20 bucks.. ya get a drink wit' it", he said, crushing the cigarette butt against his boot. "Ya comin' too?" he asked Carol.

Carol couldn't help but smile at his sudden focus on her. "I guess we could come, yes… got nothing planned for that day..." He just nodded and started to head inside. "Thank you, for the invitation", she added, and he stopped and turned to look at her, but didn't say anything else.

"Ya can bring yer buddy wit' ya", he told Michonne, his lips curling in a smirk, and both women laughed.

"Well, looks like he isn't just a hot guy, he also talks", Michonne said with a chuckle as they walked to Carol's car.

"I think he's nice", Carol answered absently.

"How nice?" Michonne asked her, looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"What you mean, how nice?" Carol asked back with a frown. "I think he's nice, period", she said.

"I just got the impression you thought he was the 'I'd like to be fuck buddies with him' kind of nice", Michonne said with a giggle.

Carol rolled her eyes and elbowed her in the ribs. She started to think of something to say but she just shrugged it off. "Whatever, Chonne".

* * *

Carol got off the shower and headed to her room, opening her closet in search of something to wear, making a mental note of buying more clothes whenever she got paid, her nicest shirts all kind of worn and discolored.

She had decided to accept Michonne's invitation and go to that bar with her and Rick, mostly because it'd been a while since the last time she'd seen him, even when she'd been the one who indirectly introduced him and her friend. Her and Rick had been neighbors for a long time, ever since he married Lori and they moved into that nice house next to Carol's. Surprisingly, it hadn't been Lori the one she'd grown close to, but him, and Carol had always sensed the woman never really liked her to begin with, no matter all the efforts she made to pretend otherwise. She never understood why, and the only reason she could think of was maybe the woman was the jealous type, the type of woman who couldn't stand it whenever her husband was nice to the rest of people, which Rick undoubtedly was; the type of woman who wanted her husband all for herself. Funny thing was, things had turned exactly the other way around, and one sad day, after 12 years of what looked like a very happy marriage, Rick found out Lori had been cheating him with no other than his best friend, Shane Walsh.

It had taken everyone by surprise, especially Rick, of course, but Carol herself had also found it hard to believe even when she was aware of all the things that didn't work about that marriage, due to all those times when he had knocked on her door asking if she needed anything, only to end up staying for coffee and telling her how things weren't working out the way they should between him and Lori. And Carol had hated her, the minute she found out, because she knew how hard the man had tried, she knew how good of a man Rick was. He even tried to stay with her and forgive her, but a few months later she ended up leaving, the only explanation she ever gave Rick for what she'd done being they'd married too young, and in a blink of an eye, another happy family dissolved. Rick decided to move, the house too big and too empty for him ever since she left with Carl, a constant reminder of how things had been happy once… but even after he moved they never lost contact, and it'd been in one of her birthdays a few months ago where he'd met Michonne.

And Carol admired Rick for giving it a second chance, something he'd always told her he believed in. She admired him for seeing it that way when she'd always been more skeptical. When she was 18 she'd wanted nothing more than finishing college and getting married; she'd pictured herself with 4 or 5 kids in a big house with a nice garden, cooking dinner and waiting for her loving husband to get out of work. But she soon understood that reality worked differently, and she changed. Maybe after a few bad relationships, or a few good relationships that'd ended badly or that'd simply ended, and now she couldn't get rid of the idea that forever might be too long when it came to being with someone; that it all worked out nice and smoothly at first, but sooner or later all the good stuff just erased, and it took a big effort on both parts to make it work, an effort she wasn't really sure was worth it. There was still that 18 year old girl in her though, and that was the reason she kept giving a chance to men her mom would have always wanted her to date, like Ed or most of the men she'd been dating these last years. And she kept wondering whether there was something wrong with her or if she just simply hadn't ran into the right man for her

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and nodded approvingly. It wasn't much of an outfit, but then again, it wasn't that she was going on a date with Daryl from the gym or anything. She chuckled and shook her head, wondering where in hell that came from, and grabbed her car keys before she left.


	7. Swollen

Another chapter, moving forward, or sort of.. hope you like it!

have a nice week! 

S.-

* * *

7.

"I convinced Rick… he told me he's going", Michonne said as they laid on the floor, catching their breath.

"Well, that's great. I mean, as long as you guys don't mind me spending all night with you", Carol said with a chuckle. The more she thought about this party, the more out of place she felt she was going to be, but at the same time it was kind of exciting and it gave her something to think about, trivial but very needed things whenever she was busy and stressed with work, like what she was going to wear.

"Are you kidding me? You're like the gym's staff best friend already... I bet you'll be spending all night with all your gym friends, maybe one in particular", Michonne joked.

"Jesus, Michonne... low your voice down", she said, blushing and looking around. She regretted having confessed her the other day she found Daryl attractive, because ever since that moment Michonne hadn't stopped throwing comments and suggesting ridiculous ways of catching his attention.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I just think you should do something about it… I definitely would myself, if I was… single or whatever", she commented, glancing at Carol out of the corner of her eye, who had sat on the floor, her legs stretched.

And then everything happened so fast Carol hadn't had the time to do anything about it: she heard two young girls chatting loudly and turned her head to look at them; the next second she felt someone bump into her, and she watched in slow motion as one of the girls lost her equilibrium and tripped, falling on the floor and dropping the weight she was carrying, which landed right on her right ankle. She cried out, feeling dizzy because of the sharp pain, Michonne's frame and everything else becoming a blur.

"Shit!" Carol! Are you ok? Can you move it?!" she heard Michonne ask, and she just shook her head no, tears involuntary coming out of her eyes. One of the girls kept apologizing, while the other had gone to get some help.

She saw Michonne lean over her, wiping the tears of her face.

"Carol, are you ok? Damnit… your ankle is swelling really fast", she said, her voice full of concern.

"I'm fine, Chonne,… it just hurts like hell, but I'm fine. I don't think it's broken…", she managed to say, her eyes automatically shutting close again.

"Damnit, wha' tha hell happened?" Carol heard the southern drawl of Daryl's voice, and she felt someone, probably him, lift her leg and gently put his hands on her swollen ankle.

"Andrea, gimme yer car keys.. we gotta take 'er to tha hospital", he said before Michonne even explained him what'd happened.

"What happened, Michonne?" Andrea asked, and whenever she managed to open her eyes she saw a whole group surrounding her, including Daryl, Andrea and Merle, and the stupid girl who had caused all this.

"'I'm fine, I'm going to be fine. That weight, it fell right on my ankle", she explained, but she probably didn't sound fine because they all looked even more worried than before.

"alrite, ain't gonna waste more time.. I'm takin' yer car…", she heard Daryl say again, and in one movement, he lifted her up and started to carry her outside, her arms wrapping around her neck to keep from falling down.

"Daryl...", she said as he was carrying her, attempting to tell him she was a nurse herself.

"Shh, it's okay. I'ma take ya to tha hospital, ya gonna be alrite", he said, his voice soft and soothing. Apparently he thought she was just complaining, and despite the pain, she couldn't help but smile a little.

"No, Daryl… hold on a second", she insisted, and he stopped instantly. She opened her eyes and felt herself blush at the sight of his face, inches away from hers, and even worse, the feeling of his strong arms, one right below her ass and the other holding her tightly around her back. He might have become self-conscious too because he blushed slightly.

"What is it?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"I'm… I'm a nurse. We don't need to go to the hospital", she said, blinking several times to avoid closing her eyes.

"Yer a nurse?! Ya can't treat yerself though.. ya should let someone see it, probably wrap yer ankle up or somethin'…", he said a little fast and nervous.

"No, really… I know what we have to do, we can just stop in a drugstore and buy the stuff I need, then I can tell you what to do… it's not broken, I can move it… I don't move it because it hurts, but it's just twisted or something", she explained, talking fast, watching as his eyes grew wide.

"Me?" he spat in disbelief, but he quickly nodded and started walking again, wasting no more time. They crossed the street and he stopped next to a car she figured was Andrea's, freeing one of his arms to open the backseat door and gently lay her down there.

"Thank you Daryl", she mumbled as her eyes shut close again, and in a few seconds he was already driving to the closest drugstore.

Carol gave her all the indications of which drugs and things to buy and he just nodded and got out the car, leaving her wondering whether he'd managed to memorize them all. The pain was making her light headed and she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of this being the way she got to spend some alone time with Daryl. Life had just a funny way sometimes, but she was glad it was Daryl helping her instead of Andrea or Merle, and she felt flattered, even though she knew he'd have done it for anyone, that he had reacted so quickly, not having doubted for one second about carrying her and taking charge of the situation.

"Alrite, got everythin'", he said as he got inside the car, turning to check on her. He furrowed his brows and just stared at her for a few seconds. "Ya ain't lookin' good…", he muttered, concern showing in his face.

"Now that's mean", she pouted teasingly, his brows furrowing even further before he chuckled nervously.

"I.. huh, I didn't mean.. I meant ya look like it fuckin' hurts...", he said, going back to his former position, but she still caught him blushing.

"I was just joking, Daryl", she said, amusingly, letting out a breath when a sharp wave of pain hit her.

"Good yer in tha mood to joke", he commented as he drove. "Where ya live? Ya sure it ain't better if we jus' go to tha hospital?" he asked her, looking at her through the rear-view mirror.

"We'd have to wait and I know what to do with this... I do it myself, pretty much every day", she explained, and she gave her the indications to reach her house.

"I think I can walk Daryl", she said once he stopped the car and opened the backseat door, leaning to lift her up again.

"Ain't matter.. jus' give me yer door keys though", he told her, and she openly smiled at him. She knew it was no big deal but it still felt kind of nice, the way he was taking care of her.

"C'mon", he said, grabbing her hand and helping her slide over the seat. He then placed his hands on her waist and lifted her, carrying her towards her front door, the proximity of his body momentarily distracting her from the pain. He was carrying the medicines bag in one hand, which left him pretty much motionless, but he still managed to lift her up with one arm, although the position he was carrying her was different than the previous one.

"Huh.. ya mig' wanna.. wrap yer legs 'round me til we get to tha door.. ain't want ya fallin' down", he said nervously, and she obliged, feeling uncomfortable herself now that her lower parts were pressing straight against his own. She didn't miss the wave of heat that hit her low on her belly, and she felt terrible for feeling aroused over him carrying her inside her house to treat her ankle. Jesus Christ. It'd been a while and he was hot as hell, sure… but still…

The journey to her front yard was really short, which she felt glad for but kind of disappointed at the same time, and as soon as they got there he gently put her down and opened the door himself, turning to look at her over his shoulder as if asking for permission to get in. She nodded and he walked inside, fumbling to find the light switch and turn it on since it'd started to get dark. She walked with difficulty past him and headed straight to her coach, laying there and letting out a relieved sigh, her swollen foot resting high on the arm rester. He walked towards her and stood awkwardly in front of her, his hands on his pockets.

"Alrite, so what tha hell am I supposed to do?" he asked her with a chuckle.

"That creamy product I made you buy? It's got local effect, you have to put it on my ankle and then wrap it with the bandages, as tight as you can." she explained, gesturing with her hands how it had to be done. "That's pretty much it... then I'm taking one of those pills for the pain.. That's all we can do for now",

"Good, I guess I can do that", he said, getting the things out of the bag. He took a seat next to her feet and put some of that product in one hand, rubbing his hands together the exact way she would have done it, and he started to gently massage her ankle with it, his fingers skillfully working on her skin, firm but soft. It hurt every now and then, as she knew it would, but it was also soothing, and a few seconds later she was closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy it.

"Ya tell me if I'm hurtin' ya", he said softly, his hand resting on her ankle for a second.

"It's ok, you're not hurting me at all", she said, her voice low and huskier than she'd have wanted it to sound.

"good, now 'em bandages then", he said, more to himself than to her, and he began wrapping her ankle. She opened her eyes and looked down at what he was doing, amazed at how good he actually was at this.

"You're really good with your hands, you know?" she told him, praying, the second she said it, he didn't take it all wrong. "Really skillful", she added, which probably made it sound even worse, she thought.

He froze at first, but then he shrugged and gave her some sort of smile. "Ain't nothin'.. anyone could have done this", he mumbled, giving her ankle a soft tap once he finished.

"You'd be surprised at how many people just couldn't", she told him back, and he just looked at her, chewing his bottom lip as if trying to come up with something to say. He stood silent though and she moved her feet in the air, contemplating his work.

"I can even move it a bit now", she commented with a gtin. "Guess there won't be any work out for me though, at least for a week", she said, suddenly aware she wouldn't be seeing him for a while.

"Yea, I was gonna tell ya jus' that…", he looked down, but she thought she caught a hint of disappointment in his eyes too, and then he abruptly stood up. "I'm gonna getcha a glass of water ta drink that pill", he said, and he headed straight to her kitchen before she could argue.

"Hey, Daryl?" she called him out.

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Stay for dinner? It's the least I can do…", she said softly.

"Are ya kiddin' me? Ya ain't cookin'.. not wit' yer ankle like that.. 'sides, ya ain't gotta do nothin', we're good", he bursted out, and she couldn't help but feeling a little sad. It's not that she'd had any other expectations but it was pretty clear for her now that he'd gone there just to help her with her ankle and wanted to leave now that they were done.

"We could.. huh.. order a pizza or somethin' though.. if ya want", he said then, heading to the kitchen without waiting for her answer.


	8. Slices

here you go, dinner chapter. Not much but some caryl interaction, slow burn as usual. Hope you like it!

Have a nice thursday! 

S.-

* * *

8.

Daryl walked to Carol's front yard and lighted a cigarette to kill the time as he waited for her to finish talking to Michonne on the phone. He'd gotten a call from Andrea as well, asking him how everything was going. It wasn't every day they had this kind of problem in the gym, then again, it happened once in a while, but those times it'd usually been Andrea who took care of things, partly because she was the one trained for it after all, partly because he or Merle never really cared. This time, though, he hurried to be him the one who helped Carol, and even when he hadn't meant for it to be an opportunity for spending some time with her, he felt glad it'd turned to be the bonus.

He heard her say goodbye to Michonne and walked inside; throwing the cigarette away even when he'd barely smoked a drag or two. And he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her maneuvering to stand up, her face full of determination, her eyes shutting close the minute her foot touched the floor, a little too fast in Daryl's opinion.

"Ohh! Holy shit. Fuck!" she cried out, moving her foot up and down, and he let out a loud laugh.

She sat back on the couch and crossed her arms around her chest, looking at him questioningly:

"You're laughing at me Daryl?" her voice was harsh and he panicked, suddenly feeling guilty for having laughed over something that obviously wasn't fun at all, or shouldn't have been, at least.

"It hurts like hell, and all you can do is laugh about it?" she insisted.

"No..", he mumbled, looking down and then up back to her unexpressive eyes. "No, no.. 's jus' ..ya swore an' I.." He glanced at her once more, and finally gave up. "'m sorry… I shouldn' have.. ya ok?" he asked her, swallowing hard.

She was still giving him that look and he thought about turning around and just running away, but then he saw her bring her hand to her mouth and start giggling non-stopedly.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she said between giggles, her eyes narrowed and watery, and it was so contagious he found himself laughing along with her.

"Yea well.. payback's a bitch, that's all I'm gonna say", he told her once they finished laughing, a smile still plastered on his face.

"You should have seen the look on your face… you wanted to die right there! Oh my god… that was too good!" she threw her head back as another wave of laughter hit her, and Daryl felt his face turn red but for a whole different reason now, just by realizing all the things seeing her laugh like that were provoking on him.

He chewed on his bottom lip and looked at her defiantly. "Yea, whateva. Like I said, payback 's a bitch, dontcha ever forget it".

"I can handle it", she assured him, her voice still filled with amusement.

"Can ya handle stayin' still fer a couple 'f hours? I'm thinkin' those pills messed wit' yer head", he joked as he took a seat on the couch next to her without thinking. Soon enough he became aware of the proximity and he felt himself blush again when she turned her head to look at him, just inches away from his.

"Seriously, they did… I do feel kind of dizzy. In a good way though", she told him, her eyes flicking over his face. He would have liked to tell her he was feeling dizzy himself too, even when he was pretty sure he hadn't taken no damn pill. And although he'd felt attracted to her ever since he first saw her, there was something different now, something new. She was just adorable, that was it, and he felt comfortable and at ease around her, and it didn't happen easily, it'd probably never happened to him before now that he thought about it.

"Right… now, seriously.. I'm sorry fer havin' laughed at ya, I didn' mean to, I jus'... did… fer some reason" He knew she wasn't mad about it but he still felt it hadn't been the most proper thing to do.

Her eyes lingered on his and she smiled and brought a hand to his shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Daryl! I think it's funny myself too, I mean… this whole situation. Yes, I hurt my ankle", she said, with a shrug, "Worse things happen, I'm sure I'll survive… and I'm glad you're here, even if it's just to laugh about it". She let out a giggle and punched him playfully on that same shoulder letting him know she was kidding again.

And he didn't even flinch when she touched him. Yes, it'd been a friendly tap on the shoulder, nothing to make a big deal about, but usually those gestures made him nervous; usually he didn't like people threatening his personal space. Might be his abusive past or his skittish personality or maybe a combination of both, but he couldn't recall having hugged Merle, for instance, not even once in his whole life; or having cuddled with a woman after sex or anything alike. And now his shoulder tingled and he felt like an idiot for reacting so easily to such a simple thing, for having liked it so much he was already missing it.

A knock on the door distracted him from all those rare thoughts and he just nodded at her and stood up, suddenly realizing how hungry he actually was, and probably her, too.

"Oh, yes… I was starving!" she said cheerfully, mirroring his thoughts. "Daryl, wait…", she called him out, but she didn't try to stand up this time. "Could you get my purse? You're not paying for this", she added.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and simply shook his head, shoving his hand inside his pocket and paying the guy as he received the pizza with his free hand and closed the door.

"Please…", she insisted. "I still have to give you the money you spent in the drugstore", she said, tilting her head and giving him a warning look.

"On tha house.. fer tha… damage caused or somethin'", he told her, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I don't think so Daryl… you came all the way here to help me, it's the least I can do". She had turned serious all of a sudden, her voice soft but insistent.

"We gonna discuss this all nigh' or we gonna eat firs'? cause I'm fuckin' starvin' maself", he put the pizza on the coffee table in front of the couch, watching her as he bent down. "ya mind if I getcha somethin' to drink?"

"Of course not, you get something for you too. There's beer, diet coke, huh… water, even wine I think. Can you get a couple of plates?" She put a cushion on the floor and slid down the couch. "And, yes, we're going to discuss it right after we eat", he heard her say on his way to the kitchen.

Daryl was trying hard to eat as slow as he could, even when he was so hungry he was sure he could take a whole pizza slice on his mouth; and he'd had to leave aside his habit of using his hands the way he always did when he ate pizza, or pretty much anything for that matter, but he figured acting a little civilized couldn't hurt.

They remained silent for a few minutes as they both ate, Daryl taking a sip of his beer every now and then and taking the opportunity to glance at her when she wasn't looking… astonished at how such an unusual and unexpected thing like eating pizza with her felt so quotidian he didn't even find it necessary to fill the silence with words.

"I was thinking I'm going to have to stand up, you know, eventually", she said, breaking the silencem and he looked up at her, taking the last piece of pizza from his plate with his hand.

"Ya should take tha day off... ya know, at least tomorrow", he commented, absently playing with the fork in his hand just because he wanted to smoke but he didn't want to light a cigarette inside her house.

"Oh, no", she replied, waving her hand in the air. "There's no way I'm spending all day stuck in here", she explained.

"Yer stubborn, woman… yer ankle is all swollen an' shit, would take less than tha' fer me to take a day off", he told her, bringing his arms behind his back to use them as leverage as he leaned back.

"I don't see you happily staying at home for a whole day", she said knowingly.

"Yea, I'd probably go huntin' or somethin'", he told her with a chuckle. "I should pro'bly get goin'… I could, huh, help ya go to yer bed or somethin' 'fore I leave". He silently cursed when he realized he was blushing once more.

"Taking me to bed, literally", she said with a giggle, and he blushed even deeper, his eyes going wide. "I think I can walk, hobble along… it doesn't really hurt that much anymore, just help me stand up though".

He glared at her for a few seconds, ignoring the fact she could probably tell how red his face was at the moment, and he rolled his eyes at her before he stood up.

"Ya know, ya got a pretty good sense 'f humor…" he walked towards her and stretched his hand out.

She took his hand and stood up, making sure her hurt foot didn't touch the floor, the impulse making her almost crush against him.

"I do, I guess… and you're nicer than you give yourself credit for", she told him with a smile, looking up at him.

He froze at her statement; his eyes stuck on her as she turned around and walked a few steps.

"See? It's not that bad", she told him over her shoulder on her way to the door.

He managed to pick up all the things from the coffee table and take them to the kitchen before he walked towards her.

"Ya sure ya gonna be alrite?" he asked her, his voice coming out softer than it usually was.

She was leaning against the wall, a small smile on her lips as she nodded. "I'm sure… I don't think I'm going to the gym this week but, um, I'll see you at that party I guess?" she asked him, and he wasn't completely sure, but he thought her voice sounded kind of softer too.

"Huh.. yea, It's in ten days.. figure yer gonna be fine by then", he mumbled, shifting from one foot to another and finally reaching for the door knob and opening the door, even when he really didn't want to leave.

"I will, and I owe you a few drinks, for the pizza and everything", she told him, sticking her head out the door.

"Ya wanna write my number down? Jus' in case ya need anythin'", he said suddenly, reaching for his phone in his pocket.

And once they exchanged numbers he walked towards Andrea's car, a little confused, a little overwhelmed, the prospect of a whole week without seeing her around in the gym becoming suddenly annoying.


	9. Encounters

New chapter here... kind of a filler but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

S.-

* * *

It'd been four days and Carol's ankle didn't hurt no more, even when she'd forced it since she'd been working since the next day that little accident at the gym happened. She even felt she could go back to her working out routine, but Michonne didn't agree, and as a nurse herself she knew her friend was probably right.

Truth was she wanted to see Daryl. She had checked his phone number written on hers too many times, she'd thought about texting him, telling him she was feeling better or something. But he hadn't texted her or called nneither so she had come to the conclusion he'd only been doing what he felt was the right thing to do, which saddened her even when there was no reason for it to be any different.

And now they had convinced Rick to take them to a cheap mall a little out of town, telling him they'd buy him lunch in return. Both of them wanted to pick up an outfit for that gym party, the idea exciting for both since it'd been a long time they didn't go out like that, even when they were still young, or so Carol liked to think. It was a rainy Saturday and Rick didn't look so thrilled as they walked inside an out every shop they found, Michonne carrying out an important amount of bags since she loved buying clothes, even when she already owned more than she could ever use.

Carol was a little more picky or maybe more insecure and it always took her longer to find something that she thought fitted her well, no matter how many times Michonne or even Rick told her it was perfect and she looked gorgeous and what not. She admired Michonne's confidence, but she didn't want to buy something she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable in. Carol didn't completely dislike her own image, but she had her days, and she'd always been more classic when it came to her outfits, just because she didn't feel she had the attitude it took to wear other kind of clothes. It was something, in Carol's opinion, that either was there or wasn't, which explained why Michonne looked sexy on her pj's, her gym clothes and, of course, those beautiful short dresses she'd bought.

And she let out a chuckle once they headed to the crowded fast food, the only place available to eat at the mall. Things had gone exactly the way she'd imagined and now she was carrying three bags with her new shoes, skirt and top, the outfit she knew she'd come back to change one of these days. She'd accepted to buy them, partly because she was tired of trying every piece of clothing on and her stomach had started to growl a while ago; partly because Michonne had really insisted and she had to admit the clothes and shoes were nice indeed.

They began eating their oversized burgers; Rick asking them how it was possible that they took so much time buying clothes without hating it, him and Michonne sitting next to the other and every now and then holding hands and looking really affectionate for the very first time in public, as far as Carol knew.

And she choked when she saw them, her eyes going wide and her capacity of speaking apparently having vanished as she noticed they'd seen them too. Rick was laughing at whatever it was that Michonne just said, her head resting on his shoulder, both of them oblivious to the unwelcomed presence behind them.

"Rick..", she started to say, her eyes stuck on Lori, who was staring at them, her mouth wide open. Shane was next to her, scratching his head frantically, and Carol saw him grab Lori's arm and whisper something on her ear, but the woman shook his head and let go of his hand.

"What is it Carol? Jesus, you look pale!" Rick said, finally paying attention to her.

"Nothing", she said nervously, suddenly deciding there was no reason for them to know.

"What is it Carol?" Michonne asked, looking over her shoulder and then back at her in one second.

"Oh my god", she muttered. "Lori and Shane, they are right there behind us", she told Rick slowly, his jaw clenching instantly as he began to nervously tap his fingers over the table.

Carol saw Lori walk to their table and she rolled her eyes, not quite believing the woman was actually doing this, messing with him again. She stopped by Rick's side and crossed her arms, staring at him as she shook his head. Shane, on the other hand, hadn't moved and he even had an apologetic look on his face. He was looking around, almost pretending he didn't know any of them.

"So what is this, Rick? Is this some kind of.., some kind of revenge or something?!" Lori said, and Carol noticed her lower lip was trembling.

Rick let out a breath and turned his body towards her, biting his bottom lip.

"This isn't no damn revenge Lori, jesus, what makes you think everything has to be about you?" he said calmly, Michonne's eyes stuck on the table.

Lori sighed dramatically, dropping her arms to her sides.

"So what is it then, huh? what do you think Carl is going to think? Don't you think he's had enough?!" she insisted, crushing her hand on the table as she said the words, which caught other people's attention.

Rick let out a loud chuckle, looking up at the ceiling and then back to her.

"Are you for real, Lori? Seriously.. are you hearing yourself? After all you did, after all _he _did, to me, to Carl, you dare showing up here, saying all this shit to me?!" his voice raised and Michonne began to stand up, but Rick took her hand in his and glanced at her.

"No, she's the one that's leaving", he stated.

Lori's eyes went wide, her gaze fixed on their hands, and she began to walk away but she suddenly stopped and looked at him over her shoulder.

"So, it's true then.. You two are a thing?" she asked him in a low voice.

"That's none of your business, Lori", Rick replied without even looking at her.

"You have to pick up Carl at 7 tomorrow", she muttered, finally turning around and leaving.

"Of course", Rick said, even when she could no longer hear him. Carol watched her and Shane as they left, and she exchanged glances with Michonne, the three of them too shocked to say anything.

"How about we leave?" Michonne said finally, and Rick nodded, chewing on his bottom lip and looking overwhelmed.

Carol sighed, all kind of nasty words coming to her mind to describe Lori and the plain bad luck of having ran into them in a lost mall on a rainy Saturday. She couldn't believe she'd dared to walk to them and say those things to Rick either, but she assumed Lori was just used to Rick being the good guy and her being the bitch, in that kind of odd reasoning in which certain things became sins if they came from people like Rick, but she didn't question Shane's betrayal because that was certainly more like a guy like him. And Carl… she would have liked to tell her her son was 14 years old and he most likely understood more things than she gave him credit for, but the woman felt better pretending her son had no clue about what she's done to his dad, what his best friend, pretty much his uncle has done to his dad.

Rick drove in silence, Carol glancing at him and Michonne from the backseat, still unable to believe what had just happened. She tried to imagine how she'd act herself if a thing like that happened to her, and she was sure she could never keep as calm as Rick had, even when he clearly was affected now. She felt sorry for him and Michonne, for the fact that their Saturday had been a little ruined, but as much as she wanted to talk to him now, to Michonne, she figured it'd be better to wait.

A beep from her phone surprised her, and she searched inside her purse to get it, her mouth opening and her thoughts going to a different place when she saw she'd gotten a text message from Daryl.

"How ya feelin?" she read, and she supposed the rules said she should wait a few minutes to reply, but she hurried to type an answer anyway.

"I'm better, thanks! How are you?" she put her phone on her leg, her stomach tingling when it quickly beeped again.

"I'm good. Still stuck in yer house?"

"Yes, kind of", she lied.

"Ya lemme know if ya need anythin'". She frowned, not knowing how to interpret his messages. He'd texted, which was a good thing, but it still seemed he was just worried about her ankle, period. Maybe he felt it was the right thing to do since she'd hurt herself at the gym where he worked. She would have liked to ask Michonne and even Rick what they thought about it, but it definitely wasn't the right time now.

Maybe it wasn't a bad thing, the fact that she couldn't ask them for advice. She got to do whatever the hell felt right without giving any explanations or caring about what the others had to say. Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish which things you did out of your own will, and which ones you did because you felt people was going to approve, and that was exactly why she'd rather buy clothes on her own: because when she went with someone else, she ended up choosing what they said looked nice on her instead of what she truly wanted. And maybe that was the problem, she thought, as she typed a text message to Daryl. Maybe the problem was she didn't really know what she wanted out of most things.

"I'm going to be home tonight, if you didn't have plans and wanted to come over".

She read the text message over and over, growing anxious as time passed without him answering. Well, at least she knew now.

"Are you guys going to be fine?" she asked once Rick parked in the front of her house.

"Yeah well, I'm ok at least", Rick said with a shrug, turning his head and giving her a gentle tap on her shoulder.

"I know", Michonne bursted out suddenly, brushing her hand on Rick's cheek.

"How?" he asked her curiously.

"Because I'm ok too", she told him with a reassuring nod.

Carol smiled and hurried to grab her bags and get out of the car, not wanting to witness their much needed conversation. She told them goodbye and jogged to her door, to keep from getting wet. Michonne, however, opened the car's window and called her out.

"And Carol, you better tell me what you are up to!"

Carol let out a laugh and ignored her, opening the front door and shivering when she felt the little phone vibrate in her pocket.

"Yea, ok, what time?"


End file.
